Men/Our wounded brothers: the Algerian war at the heart of the France 3 film evening
Two French dramas are in the spotlight this evening.
From 9:10 p.m., France 3 will offer a film evening around the Algerian War, with first Men, by Lucas Belvaux, released in summer 2021 in cinemas. Then at 10:47 p.m., the channel programs Of our wounded brothers (2022), by Hélier Cisterne.
First presents them to you, with supporting reviews. Note that after their broadcast, these two dramas will be visible for free on France.TV for a week.
Wounded menwith Gérard Depardieu, Catherine Frot, Jean-Pierre Darroussin…
The story : They were called to Algeria at the time of “events” in 1960. Two years later, Bernard, Rabut, Février and others returned to France. They were silent, they lived their lives. But sometimes it takes almost nothing, a birthday in winter, a gift that fits in your pocket, for forty years later, the past bursts into the lives of those who believed they could deny it.
The opinion of First : It starts like a bad TV movie: a birthday meeting in a community hall is disrupted by the arrival of the local pochtron. Gérard Depardieu vituperates, shoves, then is expelled by four men, a scene lazily edited in slow motion to better show the violence. This Bernard then terrorizes a family of Arab origin at their home.
Flashback. We find Bernard, a young man called to Algeria at the time of “events”. Silent, wait-and-see, he witnesses, without participating but without denouncing them either, the reprehensible acts of some of his comrades. The horrors of war seep into this weak mind, loving religion but incapable of empathy. Didn't he call his dying sister a “slut” after she gave birth to an illegitimate child? Algeria will have finished breaking this fragile man who will rebuild himself through violence and hatred, the only way for him to survive, but at what cost.
By adapting the novel by Laurent Mauvignier, Lucas Belvaux creates a profound film which goes against our consensual era by focusing on the consequences of post-traumatic stress among French soldiers but also among the Harkis, the perpetually forgotten by History . No reverse shot on the camp opposite but reflections of the type “If I had been Algerian, I would undoubtedly have been a fellaga” bear witness to a disoriented humanity and, beyond that, to the universal nature of existential anguish and despair in times of war.
Men will be visible for free in replay on France.TV until March 25, 2024.
Trailer :
Lucas Belvaux: “Chez nous is a citizen project”
Of our wounded brotherswith Vincent Lacoste, Vicky Krieps, Jules Langlade…
The story : Algiers, 1956. Fernand Iveton, 30 years old, separatist and idealist worker, is arrested for having planted a bomb in an abandoned premises of his factory. He did not kill or injure anyone, but nevertheless faces the death penalty. The life of Hélène, who has become the wife of a “traitor”, is turned upside down. She refuses to abandon Fernand to his fate. Adapted from a true story, the film is a journey backwards into the heart of their memories, a story of love and commitment shattered by reason of state.
The opinion of First : Helier Cistern (Vandal) here offers a relatively little-known episode from the troubled period of the Algerian War. The tragic fate of Fernand Iveton, the only European guillotined during these years of conflict. A trade union worker and independence activist arrested after planting a bomb in an abandoned premises of his factory and directly placed under capital threat despite the absence of victims or injuries.
Cisterne chooses to tell this story through the prism… of a love story. The one who linked Fernand to Hélène whose family fled communism to take refuge in France and who found themselves designated “traitor’s wife”. But the screenplay never manages to find its balance between the two characters and creates frustration by remaining on the surface of things for both, despite its two amazing performers, Vincent Lacoste and Vicky Krieps.
Of our wounded brothers will be visible for free in replay on France.TV until March 26, 2024.
Trailer :
Katell Quillévéré: “Vincent, I found him really striking in Of Our Wounded Brothers”
